While developing a position of a Teacher Researcher, I have aimed at making the educational practice and research to meet more quickly and more effectively. Working 80% as a music teacher in a Finnish comprehensive school and 20% as a researcher in the University of the Arts, I am able to bring research based information to the school practice as well as to raise current topics and to collect material for the research. The key benefits of the double role are living in the “field” for years, possessing tacit knowledge of the profession, and following the societal and educational changes in the school in real time. However, there are also difficulties due to the double position. Firstly, how to share your time to serve relevant practices in both fields? Secondly, how to record the daily life of the school, balancing your research interests, teaching schedule and ethical questions? Thirdly, how to combine the positions as an observing researcher and as an equal and active member of the school staff? Ideally, being a “Double Agent” and hence knowing the practices, languages and ethical codes of both professions, a teacher researcher can act as an active agent for participatory practices and positive change in both the fields. Yet, there is a danger of being perceived as a spy agent, if the colleagues or students feel that anything they say may be used for unknown purposes. Thus, special sensibility is needed in choosing the research topics and methods. Introducing a process of choosing and changing my current research topic, I will discuss (1) practical benefits and difficulties of the double role, (2) ethical issues concerning both the pupils and the colleagues, and (3) my solutions on how to define the topics and design the methods when conducting ethnography in my own educational community.

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